Government Servant's Penalties for Late Filing Deleted by ITAT

The ITAT consolidated three appeals challenging penalties under section 271FA for AY 2015-16. The appellant, a government servant, outsourced filing annual information returns, citing staff's lack of tax knowledge for delays. ITAT found reasonable cause for delays, invoking relief under section 273B. Penalties were unjustified and deleted in all appeals, ruling in favor of the appellant.

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Issues:
Appeals against penalty u/s.271FA for AY 2015-16 - Whether penalty justified due to delay in furnishing annual information return.

Analysis:
In three appeals, the appellant challenged penalties imposed under section 271FA for Assessment Year 2015-16 by the Director of Income Tax (I&CI), Ahmedabad. The main contention was the imposition of penalties for delays in filing annual information returns. The department argued that penalties were justified, while the appellant claimed there was a reasonable cause for the delays.

ITAT's Decision:
The ITAT decided to consolidate all three appeals due to the commonality of issues. The appellant, a government servant, had outsourced the task of submitting annual information returns and cited the newly recruited staff's lack of awareness of tax provisions as a reason for the delays. The appellant argued that timely tax payments were made, and there was no revenue loss.

Reasoning for Deletion of Penalties:
The ITAT, considering the circumstances, found that the appellant had a reasonable cause for the delay in filing the annual information returns. The tribunal invoked section 273B, which provides relief in cases of genuine reasons for delays. Consequently, the penalties imposed by the Director of Income Tax were deemed unjustified and were deleted in all three appeals.

Conclusion:
Ultimately, the ITAT allowed all three appeals, ruling in favor of the appellant and deleting the penalties imposed under section 271FA for the Assessment Year 2015-16. The decision was based on the appellant's reasonable cause for the delays in filing the annual information returns, as per the provisions of section 273B.

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